Konoha's Ghost
by BabLe7
Summary: Kyuubi thinks Naruto is weak. So kyuubi gives naruto an ability that wil make him nigh untouchable. Behold the birth of a legend as the Phantom Assassin rises to glory. M because I might get detailed with the violence. INDEFINITE HIATUS. CHECK PAGE FOR REASONS.


Birth of the Legend

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"**Pathetic."** A voice boomed through the darkness.

"What?" a small blond boy asked timidly as he looked around trying to figure out where the villagers had dumped him this time.

"**I said you're pathetic."** The voice boomed again.

"Who's there?" the scared boy asked as his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. Finally being able to see clearly enough, the boy could now make out his surroundings. Apparently the villagers decided to dump in the sewer again. But this sewer was at least twice as big as any of the others he had been dumped in before.

"**Come to my voice"** the voice boomed again, but this time the direction it came from was clearly down the darker passage of the sewer.

So the boy followed the direction the voice and the occasional dark chuckle came from as it was either do that or wander around aimlessly while looking for an exit. As he walked, he noticed water starting to pool on the floor, and the closer he got to the voice the deeper the water got. After several minutes he finally reached a large room with a gigantic set of gates on the far wall, the water was half way up his thigh. The deep crimson ethereal glow coming from behind the bars of the gate tinted the water red, making it give off the appearance of blood. Behind the bars, breathing and some rustling could be heard.

"Who are you?" the small blond boy asked again, curiosity and fear in his voice.

A massive, solid black shadow blocked out part of the red glow that came from the other side of the gate. The shadow slowly approached the gate; a feeling of absolute dread began to permeate the already thick air of the sewer. As the shadow grew closer two dim red orbs could be seen where the boy assumed its head was. **"Do you know why you are here?"** the shadow's voice rang out from the other side of the gate like thunderclap, ignoring the boy's question.

"The villagers dumped me here after beating me again." The boy answered.

"**Not quite."** The shadow's voice boomed as it loomed forward, approaching the gate yet again. **"You are correct about the villagers beating you, but they did not dump you here. I called you here."**

"Who are you?" the boy demanded, completely forgetting the feeling of dread that had been creeping over him since he had entered the room.

The red intensified bathing the shadow in crimson light. The boy blinked several times to get his eyes used to the new amount of light before looking behind the bars again. There, standing before him, was a massive red fox. It must have been at least five hundred feet tall, even while sitting as it was now. Nine long tails flowed behind it as it waited for the boy's reaction.

Upon seeing what was behind the large gates, the boy went starry-eyed. All fear and sadness forgotten, the boy ran past the widely separated bars of the gate and right up to one of the swaying tails with an abandon never before seen in the child. He stared at the tail for a minute before jumping onto and hugging it. Yes readers, as you may have guessed, Naruto has a liking of fluffy or furry things (like fox tails or kittens) almost to the point of it being an obsession.

The fox sweatdropped. **'What happened to everyone fearing me?'** Kyuubi thought as it stared at the boy, he was rubbing his cheek against the fur of the tail. Kyuubi moved the tail the boy was hugging so that the boy hung in front of its face. **"You are weak."**

"And you're fluffy." The boy argued back.

"**Your being weak will make me look weak, and I really don't like being seen as weak."**

"Who are you again?" the boy asked with a confused look on his face.

"**Kyuubi! I am Kyuubi!"** the fox yelled at its ignorant guest.

"Okay." The boy said in a cheery voice as he went back to rubbing his cheek in the tail's soft fur.

"**I am going to give you a gift that will help you not be weak."** Kyuubi said as it gently flicked the boy off of its tail and back to the other side of the bars.

When the boy finally got back to his feet and looked back at the gate he saw a large wave of red energy closing in on him from all sides. Then he saw black as he passed out.

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"How is he?" the Hokage asked a doctor who was standing just outside of a hospital room.

"He's recovering at his normal rate. But, with how injured he was when he was brought in, he'll be here for about a week. It's a good thing that Anko found him when she did or he might not have made it." The doctor said looking through the window in the door at the small blond child who was resting on the bed inside the room.

The Hokage looked at the child for a minute before sighing. "He doesn't deserve to be treated this bad, he's the personification of innocence. The worst part is he doesn't even know why they beat him and I don't have the heart to tell him."

"Where was his guardian or the person that is assigned to protect him when his guardian is on a mission?" the doctor asked, genuinely concerned for the child.

"The caretaker at the orphanage was waiting for him to get back from his first day at the academy. Apparently his ANBU guard was knocked out just before Naruto was attacked because she let her guard (Yuugao) down for a minute. This just keeps getting worse; the villagers are now willing to attack ANBU just to get to Naruto." The Hokage said in a mildly depressed tone.

Information break. Naruto just went to the first day of his ninja academy training and was attacked by a mob of unhappy villagers on the way back to the orphanage. The Hokage entered Naruto in the academy two years early so that Naruto would be able to protect himself from those that wish him harm i.e. most of Konoha. Okay, back to the story.

"Don't worry Hokage-sama, I'm sure we'll find a way to keep him safe soon enough." The doctor said before heading to the next room to continue his rounds.

The Hokage let out one more sigh before using shunshin to get back to his office where there was a fresh stack of paperwork waiting for him just because of this incident. Several hours later, the Hokage was getting ready to head home for the night when there was a knock on his office door. This was an uncommon occurrence but not an unusual one. "Come in."

The door opened and in walked an unusually serious looking Anko. "Um, I have a request that's going to seem slightly unusual." She said.

"Go on."

"I would like to adopt Naruto."

"Could you repeat that? I'm not sure that I heard you right." The stunned Hokage said.

"I said I would like to adopt Naruto." She repeated.

Hiruzen took on a thoughtful look as he weighed the pros and cons of both saying 'yes' and saying 'no'.

If he said 'no' there was a large possibility that by the time Naruto graduated from the academy he would be depressed, antisocial, and highly unstable.

If he said 'yes' there was no doubt in his mind that he would end up with a blond, Kyuubi-powered, male, mini Anko. He shuddered.

"I have a feeling that I'm going to regret doing this but, very well. I'll go get the adoption papers."

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Location: Konoha hospital, one week later, Naruto's room

Naruto had just awoken and sat up in his bed as a nurse walked into the room. "Hi Kirei-oneechan." Naruto said in a cheerful tone as soon as he saw the nurse.

The bespectacled brunette smiles at him as she looked up from his chart. "I'm glad to see that you're awake Naruto-kun. Hokage-sama will be by later to check on you." She said to him in a kind tone. Over the four and a half years since his birth, she had unofficially become his personal nurse so to speak since she was always the one assigned to check up on him. He had always called her onee-chan, and she wouldn't have it any other way because she always watched out for him like a big sister would for a younger brother.

"How soon can I get out of here onee-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Well first we have to run a blood test to make sure there are no more lingering infections. After that we just need to do a basic checkup and you'll be allowed to go." Kirei said as she sat down next to Naruto's bed and asked him to hold out his arm so that she could get the blood sample she needed.

After Kirei was done and Naruto stopped whining about how much needles hurt, she got him some apple juice and some food and told him to wait for the Hokage.

Naruto didn't have to wait long after he finished his meal before the Hokage and a woman he didn't recognize walked into his room. "Ojii-san, you'll never guess what I dreamed about."

"You were in a room full of ramen?" the Hokage guessed.

"Not this time. I was in this big sewer where I met this really big and fluffy fox. It had nine tails and I got to hug one of them before it said something about giving me a gift."

The Hokage didn't know whether to laugh or be worried. He had a feeling that that was no dream. And these kinds of feelings were usually right. "Did the fluffy fox say anything else Naruto-kun?" he asked, showing mild interest.

"I don't think so."

"Alright then, back to business. Naruto-kun, I would like to introduce you to Mitarashi Anko. She is the one who found you and brought you here."

Naruto looked at the woman who was standing next to the Hokage. She was wearing the barest minimum a woman would be allowed to wear in public without being arrested for indecent exposure, but Naruto honestly didn't know enough about that to care. Naruto let out a noise that sounded like a cross between a gasp and a squeal of delight before he all but vanished, tackling Anko to the ground in a hug. "ANBU-chan! Are you going to play with me again?"

Yes folks, as strange as it may sound, Anko had at one point been one of Naruto's ANBU guards and despite how she acted in public, she was always kind and gentle with Naruto. Whenever it was her turn for guard duty Anko would play cards with Naruto or something else that would hold onto his attention.

"Not today brat." She said while affectionately rubbing his head, messing up his hair in the process. "But I do have good news for you."

"Really?" Naruto asked in a cheery voice.

Anko picked Naruto up as she got up and walked over to the bed and sat down on it with Naruto on her lap. "You've been adopted."

"By who?"

"By me you silly boy." Anko told him.

Naruto got the biggest smile on his face since the Hokage first introduced him to ramen. He then grabbed Anko in the tightest hug his four and a half year old arms could give.

Anko just returned Naruto's hug, happy to see that Naruto was happy.

Unfortunately right when this happy scene started, Kirei burst into the room with a panicked look on her face. "Hokage-sama! Something changed in Naruto's DNA and we don't know what to make of it. It looks like a bloodline limit gene signature, but Naruto doesn't have one."

The Hokage almost laughed. 'So Kyuubi gave him a bloodline as a 'gift'. That explains it.' He turned to the panicking nurse with a gentle, reassuring smile on his face. "Well Naruto-kun did tell me that a big fluffy fox said it gave him a gift. Maybe that's what it was."

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Over the next week several things happened. The first thing to happen was that Naruto moved into Anko's apartment the day he got out of the hospital. Next, Anko went to the Hokage requesting to only receive missions inside the village so that there was always someone to watch over Naruto and so that she could help him with his training. Finally, Anko bought Naruto several sets of less blinding clothes.

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Time skip 6 years later, Team assignment day at the academy (Training will be shown in flashbacks or alluded to and the like so don't worry about me not showing the training, I'll show what's important ^.^)

As his sensei, Tanashi, called out the teams, it got down to the point that there where four students left whose names had yet to be called, Naruto was among them. "Team twelve will be Senada Jana, Nemuri Mako, and Venera Nakaru. Your sensei will be Namaki Yurima." Tanashi said.

Naruto raised his hand and when Tanashi gave him a nod that meant 'go ahead' he asked, "What team am I being put on sensei?"

"You are a very special case Naruto. It seems that the ANBU division has taken an interest in your abilities and your bloodline limit. ANBU Neko will be here after lunch to pick you up and get you your gear." Tanashi explained.

The students started whispering about this new bit of information. Never before had an academy student been brought into ANBU immediately after graduating. Not even Uchiha Itachi was inducted/accepted into ANBU right out of the academy.

After lunch Naruto met up with Neko (Yuugao) and headed to the ANBU HQ for his skills level to be tested. "Naruto," Tora, Naruto's captain in ANBU began "We are going to test your skill through a mission that, despite its simplicity, will have a major effect on the villages security. Someone just stole the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage tower. Your mission is to retrieve the scroll, incapacitate the thief and bring them back here for interrogation before returning the scroll to the Hokage. Do you understand your mission?"

Naruto gave a sadistic smirk, he had been waiting for a chance to let loose. "Yes, I understand."

Tora took a quick moment to examine the newest ANBU recruit. Naruto looked _almost_ like a mini version of Anko. He was wearing loose, black, wear-resistant pants that looked like the standard jounin issue pants wrapped at the ankles with a dark grey tape. On his feet were black, steel-toed combat boots with padded treads to reduce noise. He had the metal plate of his forehead protector attached to the right sleeve of his black short-sleeved trench coat. Said trench coat had numerous hidden pockets on the inside as well as purple-grey flames trailing up from the bottom of the coat, on the back was the kanji for 'ghost' in the same color as the flames. Underneath his trench coat, which he always wore with the front open, he had on an armored mesh undershirt. "Then you are dismissed." As Naruto turned to walk out the door, Tora took notice of the only thing that he had missed in his initial once-over of the boy. There was a rather large scythe on his back; it had a single edge except for the tip of the blade where it was double-edged for a few inches.

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Location: Forest behind residential district of Konoha

Sasuke smirked as he ran through the forest towards the meeting location. Mizuki had told him that this was the only way to graduate from the academy early. 'The sooner I graduate from that place the sooner I can get the power I need to kill Itachi.' He thought. Sasuke didn't know what was in the scroll but it was right where Mizuki-sensei had told him it would be. He was broken from his thoughts when he heard a voice coming from all around him.

"Uchiha, what are you doing with that scroll?" the voice said.

Sasuke stopped running and looked around, trying to find where the voice was coming from. "Who's there? Show yourself!" Sasuke yelled; he was starting to get really creeped out by the disembodied voice.

Particles started to form in the air all over the place before they all shot towards a low branch of one of the trees in front of him. Slowly, the particles started forming a blob. That blob then took on the shape of someone sitting on the branch as more particles flew into it. Finally, when the particles stopped, a blond boy about Sasuke's age sat on the branch, staring at him. "I will only repeat myself once. What are you doing with the scroll, Uchiha?"

"Mizuki-sensei told me to retrieve it and bring it to the shack in the woods to graduate early from the academy." Sasuke replied

"You've been tricked. There is no such test for graduating early." The boy said.

"Finally, I found you!" Mizuki said as he walked up to Sasuke. "Okay, Sasuke, give me the scroll and you'll be a genin."

"That's not going to happen." Said the boy, catching Mizuki's attention. "Academy instructor Mizuki, you are herby placed under arrest for treason and attempting to give away village secrets. Uchiha, you will be brought in so that we can clear your name as you were tricked into stealing the scroll."

Mizuki had heard the rumors about this kid. He was the one everyone, himself included, called 'demon brat'. But rumors started six years ago after a particularly brutal beating. People started calling him a ghost though he didn't know why. He always assumed it was because people thought he died after the attack six years ago. So, with this line of thought, he just pulled one of the oversized shuriken off of his back and threw it at the boy. As he watched, the boy didn't even bother move. What kind of idiot just sits there and stares at a very large and very sharp, fast moving object coming straight at them? His triumph turned to horror though, as the shuriken passed through him as if he wasn't even there.

The boy just continued to sit there staring at Mizuki with a bored look on his face. "That won't work against me." He said. "Ekisou." He called out before whipping his arm in Mizuki's general direction. To Mizuki and Sasuke's surprise, the boy's arm extended and wrapped around Mizuki like a whip. "Containment." He said, as the arm that was wrapped around Mizuki tightened to make sure Mizuki couldn't do anything. "Grab onto my shoulder. I'm taking you both to ANBU headquarters. Once there we can clear up this whole mess."

Sasuke nodded nervously before grabbing onto the boy's shoulder.

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Location: Captain Tora's office the next day

"You handled yourself perfectly out there, Naruto." Tora said.

"Thank you." Naruto replied. He was also very pleased with how his mission went.

"We observed your mission from a distance and we think we've found a suitable codename/mask for you." Tora reached into the top right drawer of his desk and pulled out an all black mask with details of facial features in white. "Welcome to the ANBU, Yuurei." He handed Naruto the black mask.

"It will be an honor to serve." Naruto said with a smirk before he donned his mask.

No one knew at the time, but that day marked the birth of a legend. On that day, the Yuurei no Ansatsusha was born.

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Kyuubi's gift to Naruto:

Souten'i - phase transition; phase change; phase transformation

Abilities granted by said gift:

Kosou-solid phase

Ekisou-liquid phase

Kisou-gas phase

_Chiru_-(1) to fall (e.g. blossoms, leaves); (2) to scatter; to be dispersed; (3) to disappear; to dissolve; to break up; (4) to spread; to run; to blur; (5) to die a noble death ----- I will be using definitions 2 and 3 only

_Arawareru_-(1) to appear; to come in sight; to become visible; to come out; to embody; to materialize; to materialise; (2) to be expressed (e.g. emotions); to become apparent (e.g. trends, effects) ----- I will be using only the first definition

Partial phase change

Manipulation of body shape while in liquid phase- i.e. using arm as a giant whip/tentacle-like thing or shooting fingers out at high speeds like spikes

Terms that may or may not be unfamiliar:

Yuurei - ghost, apparition, specter, phantom

Yuurei no Ansatsusha - Phantom Assassin

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I noticed something while writing this. I tend to make it so that Naruto has at least one female in the generation that witnessed the Kyuubi attacks that cares for him just because they think he's cute or something like that.

Anyway, tell me what you think. If you have something negative to say about it, please tell me how to fix whatever it is that you have a problem with.

As a final note for those of you who are actually reading this not since I'm sure some people don't, Naruto's pairing is currently undecided. I want to fix that, but I have no idea who to pair him with. I am taking suggestions for who Naruto will be paired with. But I do have rules for how this is going to go. First, I refuse to write naruhina unless it's part of a harem. Second, I will not pair Naruto up with girls that are more than five years older than him. Third, I do not write yaoi, I use it for starting a fire. Finally, if you want me to write a harem, tell me which girls you want in it. So without further adieu, please leave me a review telling me whom you want Naruto to be paired with.

Until next time, ja ne.


End file.
